POCOMOKE — Three Worcester County residents died on Monday in an apparent double-murder and suicide in Pocomoke.
Around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on Groton Road in Pocomoke for a welfare check on resident Karen E. Purnell, 53, at the request of a friend. The friend had not seen Purnell for some time and physically went to the residence on Groton Road and called the sheriff’s office after receiving no answer and reportedly smelling a strong odor coming from the residence.
When Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the residence, they found the home to be secure from the outside with no signs of forced entry. When deputies made attempts to make contact with someone inside the residence, they heard the voice of an unidentified male inside. Deputies asked the male to open the door, but the male failed to comply with the request.
Deputies were able to retrieve a key to the Purnell residence and gained access. Inside, deputies found two decomposing bodies, later identified as Purnell and Marvin Wilmer, 78, lying on the kitchen floor, and a third body, later identified as Marvin Desmond, 46, in the hallway opposite the kitchen. After observing the three bodies, deputies exited the home for safety and set up a perimeter.
Deputies attempted to contact anyone inside by cell phone and loud speaker for about an hour to no avail. Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies then deployed a tear gas canister through the window in an attempt to force any occupant out of the residence. As a result of the tear gas canister being deployed, a fire ignited inside the residence. The Pocomoke Fire Department responded to the scene to extinguish the fire.
Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies and Pocomoke firefighters entered the residence and extricated Desmond’s body. A rifle was located under Desmond’s body and an examination revealed what appeared to be a single gunshot wound. Three bodies were recovered, including Purnell, Wilmer and Desmond, in what appears to be a double-homicide and suicide.
The victims’ bodies, along with Desmond, were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsies, which investigators believe will confirm the double-homicide and suicide. Investigators interviewed witnesses and residents in the area through the day on Monday and crime scene evidence was collected and transported to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division for analysis. The investigation is ongoing.
